


Meet Me On The High Seas

by Shatterpath



Series: The Twelve Months of Christmas [7]
Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: AgentCorpWeek2020, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - No Powers, Because Captain Alex Is Sexy, Boats and Ships, Cussing, Gen, Not-Evil Lex Is Fascinating, Team as Family, The Luthors And Grants Being Extra
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-04
Updated: 2020-06-25
Packaged: 2021-03-01 10:27:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 9,650
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23469898
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shatterpath/pseuds/Shatterpath
Summary: The stranger's little giggle-chuckle made Alex all the more regretful that she had to take care of the nuisance. Bowing away, she got in a last flirt in her departure."Duty calls, I'm afraid. Farewell, pretty lady. Until we meet again."
Relationships: Alex Danvers/Lena Luthor
Series: The Twelve Months of Christmas [7]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1580557
Comments: 21
Kudos: 91





	1. A New Adventure

**Author's Note:**

> Yeah, so sorry about the huge freaking intro you're about to swim into! Alex was feeling chatty about her new scenario. We'll get to Lena, I promise! Like herding cats, I swear…
> 
> This is another of my rambley meet-cutes that I have no idea where it's going. I just liked the idea when daskey brought it up, and let my imagination run with it. As a side note, I know more about the superyacht Wider 165, named Cecelia, than any poor person ever needs to know! But once I started looking for information, I had to keep digging, because it was interesting as hell. In drawing the ship out to scale, I ended up bumping up the size and creating the fictitious Wider 190 so that I could throw in some additional toys. As there's no real plan for this 'verse, I may or may not keep playing in it, we'll see!

As jobs went, there were weirder, Alex supposed. At least it let her keep hard won skills sharp.

After a decade as Navy then Coast Guard, she'd hemmed and hawed over really focusing on school or not, until Kara gave her an out. Hooray for little sisters and their job being the other half of her rich boss's brain! 

So Cat Grant had needed a little peace and quiet, and how better than dumping handfuls of millions into a yacht? And every ship needed a captain. So Kara had soothed Cat's understandable wariness of her privacy and hired right from her own family.

Alex admitted it, she'd gotten spoiled. _So_ spoiled. The 'Panther' hadn't been the biggest ship among the one percent, but it had packed in stacks of luxury and entertainment. And at least the Grants packed in tech that meant something to them, not to win the dick-waving contests that most superyachts were.

Still, after some years --and Carter growing up fast-- Cat had given up the yachting. And while Alex missed hanging out with her sister and other less mentionable bennies when Cat was onboard, she had promises to keep to herself. There were excellent bonuses to the life she'd been living up until then, but the best bonus? Enough savings for a couple years of hands-on college to supplement a decade and a half of distance courses. All she had to do now was wrap up her thesis so that she could slap doctor in front of captain of the ship and her military rank of Commander. 

Except Cat Grant, the best and most demanding boss she'd ever worked for --and Alex had worked literally under fire more than once-- had a new proposition. It had been Kara's fault really, but over their years, each sister had gotten the other into all manner of shenanigans. This was a particularly notable one though.

"Aaaaaaaaalex! I know you're feeling at odds with 'now what' now that you've slammed four years of hands on and lab work into two!"

It was true, but damned if Alex was going to admit it with any sort of grace. As always, Kara could read her silences as well as her tone, no matter how many miles were between them. Face to face, she didn't stand a chance. Gone sly, Kara was all teasing persuasion, gesturing magnanimously with her sloppy burger and somehow not losing a morsel.

"It'll be a new adventuuuure for you. A trip around the world wherever Cat's niece wants to go in a fancy new shiiiiiiiiiiiny."

When Kara queued up her phone and slid it across the table, Alex instantly forgot her need to clarify the 'Cat's niece' connection. Snatching up the phone, she ogled the pretty machine gleaming there, frozen in a photo.

"Wait. Is this a Wider? As in luxury-yacht-with-a-tender-garage-and-most-importantly-azimuth-pods-finest-buider-in-Italy-Wider?"

Kara's smug was probably visible from orbit. Alex might kick her ass for it later. Except that it really was a beautiful ship, and yes, dammit, she was interested.

"I knew you'd see it my way."

\----

And so it went. Many meetings, negotiations and scrubbing up a few rusty skills later, and Alex was touching down in Ancona, Italy to be whisked away in proper royal fashion by representatives of Wider Superyachts. 

And what a superyacht she was.

In the glorious waters off the Adriatic coast lay the Wider 190, ready for her new home and owner. Not to be rushed through her inspection of every nook and cranny of the ship, Alex finally drove off the suit and his cartoonishly white smile, far happier with a couple of engineers and an administrative assistant trailing after them to keep notes.

At first, she thought she was imaging the reoccurring purple scattered about like an afterthought. It was a royal color with dusky undertones in throw pillows and fabric wall panels and linens. Frankly, it looked odd in contrast to the relentless neutrals and mirrored surfaces. When she spotted a corporate information packet on the dining room table, it made more sense. A blocky, stylized 'L' in black and that same purple stood above LUTHORCORP on the cover. Inside was a slick presentation of documents and brochures that boiled down to, 'so now that you are a LuthorCorp asset, here's some of the basics.'

Well, at least she had some reading material for the voyage back to the U.S.

After a good night's sleep in a fine hotel on Wider's dime, Alex met up with her core crew at the airport, excited to show them the new toy. On the drive from the airport to the wharf, Alex ran down the basics and grinned in delight when they squealed over the ship and scattered to look her over. 

With her most trusted crew around her --sans Brainy who was finishing up a former obligation and would join them in New York-- Alex was ready to really get into the game now. They all crawled over every square inch of the ship more than once, even suiting up to dive and poke at her hull and the two azimuth pods that powered her through the water. They were odd looking T-shaped protrusions with a pair of propellers working together in a counter-rotation that calmed the water disturbance and made the ship quiet and nearly without vibration. Better, they could swivel independently and, together with the bow thrusters, the nearly two hundred foot ship could spin like a top. Precision docking was almost easy.

Carter's brains and interests could be seen all over the big toy, from the IT room packed with the best electronics to the little cinema rigged for VR games to the nerdy lab on the main deck packed with fancy tech. Alex expected Winn to cry with joy a few times. Winn was a brilliant computer nerd with a solid grip on all forms of electrical work and worshiped Alex like a big sister. He'd been close pals with Kara for years. Bringing him on as the electro technical officer had been an easy match and he also helped out as a deckhand when needed.

The crew of five was thrilled with the spaciousness of the back of house areas. No cramped quarters like there had been on the smaller 'Panther'! There were side by side cabins only meters from the bridge for both captain and first mate, another just below for the purser and the ten additional crew cabins deep in the hull were downright roomy compared to most matchboxes on yachts, no matter what their size.

A few days of tooling around the Mediterranean with her crew and various company reps to get the feel of the Wider 190 and living aboard her 24/7, and Alex was comfortable with officially taking command. With a final grocery order of fresh food delivered and stowed, the crew eased away from the ship's parent dock and hummed out into the sea to start for home. Evening saw them though the Straights of Gibraltar and they could finally open the engines up, water spraying away from the hatchet-like bow of the ship.

"Even at these speeds, she's so quiet," Susan marveled. "And so little vibration. Without a window nearby, I'd barely know she was moving!"

Normally a person of few words, it was high praise coming from the Chief Engineer. Susan was a burned-out former Coastie who had platonically fallen madly for Alex when they served together and would follow her anywhere. She was gifted with maintenance and smaller craft, making her invaluable as chief engineer and bosun, the staff member in charge of the exterior of the ship and her deployable toys.

"Should I start doing donuts?" Lucy laughed evilly and pantomimed wrenching the control stick back and forth. Susan just gave her a dry look and Alex punched her best friend playfully in the arm. Lucy was tiny and intense and sarcastic and entertaining. She was also brilliant, as attentive as a hungry hawk and had the bullshit tolerance of a saint. It made her a perfect first mate and purser/head stewardess, taking charge of all the workings of the guests and interior. She was formerly Army, an experienced lawyer and basically family as her sister was married to Kara's insufferable cousin who was more a brother to her. 

Where she'd brought up snacks and then made herself comfy in the owner's booth behind the captain's chair, Nia snickered at their banter. Only in the last year of working for Cat had Alex found Nia and her husband Querl, affectionately known as Brainy. As opposite as night and day, they were vanguards of logic versus emotion and adored one another deeply. Brainy understood the mechanics of every job on the ship, was a spectacular navigator and Alex had been happy to make him second mate and leave him in command of whatever deckhands they had aboard. It was more than enough responsibility for him, as he had no ambition for advancing in rank, as it were. Nia was a gifted chef who gained her skills in hole in the wall kitchens in several cities, so she was perfectly prepared for galleys often of questionable size, and a vast knowledge of foods and drink to satisfy. It was a good thing Cat had found her too, because their old boss was a stickler for quality and cleanliness and nowhere was that more apparent than when consumables were involved. She'd certainly worked their way through enough cooks and cleaners!

In the six of them, they covered the core needs of any ship, for any length of time. Others could be brought onboard to fill out the staff as needed.

After nearly a week negotiating the busy Mediterranean Sea, the wider 190 had passed the Strait of Gibraltar and turned up the coast for a short leg to her final European stop before heading home. Lucy, as the most efficient of first officers and speaker of a handful of languages, had already negotiated berthing and fuel at a middling-sized marina in Cadiz, Spain. Doubtlessly the fancy toy was causing some staring at the utilitarian marina, but that wasn't the crew's problem. They kept to themselves and ignored the rubberneckers.

It was nice to have a quiet night before setting out across the ocean, a trip that would take them a minimum of some twelve days. They passed around a couple of bottles of wine and ate Nia's good cooking and caught up on one another's lives.

The dawn came slow and easy, waking the marina and bringing out the staff with hoses full of diesel fuel. There was also a grocery delivery to see them through, Nia combing over it for quality.

Before the Bay of Cadiz and her attendant towns were even fully awake, the ship was easing away from the dock with the ease of a gentle push.

With crew rested and tanks full, the Wider 190, an elegant lady in want of a name, set off into the endless blue. In the halcyon days crossing the Atlantic Ocean, the crew had meetings, made lists for supplies, figured out chores and watch rotations and tested out all the toys onboard. There was the elegant tender boat, thirty-two feet of raw power that slipped into the rear of the ship in her own dock that when emptied, could be quickly shifted to a saltwater pool. In the nose was a search and rescue style inflatable, personal watercraft, all manner of gear to ride the wind on a sailboard or towed behind the boats. There was inflatable play sets to climb and bounce on, that included a rock wall to climb all the way to the upper deck and a slide to rocket back into the water.

But the wildest thing was the submarine.

In a water-flooded box pinned between the tender and the bowels of the ship, it was a ridiculous looking machine, boxy, gangly and awkward looking with a huge bubble of glass where three inhabitants could cram in. Protected by the strong but flimsy-looking carapace of technology, the crew took turns seeing the ocean below, getting the feel for how the submarine worked.

By the time the east coast rose up from the sea, they were almost ready.

Their personal effects had already been shipped to New York, most of their shopping had been online and awaited being picked up once they made landfall. Then it was shopping for fresh food and flowers and waiting for the new boss.

Alex felt like a moron that she hadn't asked earlier what the niece looked like. Now it seemed too late to do so. It would all shake out eventually, after all, how many people could own a toy like this?

Pulling into the slip assigned her, at the entire swath of wharfs owned by LuthorCorp and sharing a dock with a mega-yacht that made this girl look like the tender she carried, Alex realized that working for Cat Grant, and picking up this fine machine made across the ocean, had not at all prepared her for what she had gotten herself into.

"Weird," Alex mused idly. "You'd think there'd be some fanfare."

"Or at least a stuffed shirt to check the new toy over," Lucy added on 

But there was no one there to greet them, just the general hubbub of cargo and people moving about.

With azimuth pods and bow thrusters working in sync, the nearly two hundred foot yacht spun gracefully and backed into her slip. The bump against the fenders that kept steel hull from concrete didn't even register through the aluminum superstructure. Nice.

Susan and Lucy shimmied overboard to expertly grab the lead lines and pull over the docking ropes, lashing the 190 tight to her temporary home. They were almost done when --of all things-- a security guard toddled over, clearly feeling very important in his little uniform and seventies pornstache.

"It takes a very secure man to work that purple," Alex lightly mocked and Nia snorted as she tightening the ropes.

"Or a hell of a paycheck."

Once the spider web of lines secured the ship, the fancy-pants gangway hummed from its hidden compartment in the stern to hydraulically reach up to the wide, central access wharf for the whole LuthorCorp berthing. Then a call to Lyft had Nia and Winn off to retrieve orders, personal effects and their missing crewman. That left the trio of senior officers to begin scrubbing off nearly three weeks of nonstop ocean and getting the interior in pristine shape. 

While they'd been underway, the crew had kept up on the housework, but the biggest job had to wait for a longer stopover. That was scrubbing the hull. So Alex and Susan dragged out the lines and boards to create their workspace dangling in mid-air before clambering into place armed with hoses and buckets and pole arm scrubbies.

Thus passed a quiet afternoon.

Though, eventually, someone took notice of them.

"Bet this is our girl," Alex commented idly and Susan leaned back hard into her safety straps to get a look before chuckling and getting back to her work.

"Not takin' that sucker bet."

There was no missing the spunky little yellow Smartcar by the fact that it stood out against the dreary, industrial tapestry of the harbor. From the driver's seat came a svelte woman with sleek black hair in a ponytail and beautiful brown skin. She was dressed halfway between business casual and bohemia, putting on open a pair of big sunglasses before striding confidently towards the ship.

Yep. Called it.

"Guess the home office wants to see the goods after all, eh?" she said lightly to Susan. 

"For thirty mill, you can't blame them."

Leaving off the scrubbing, Alex shimmied along the narrow plank holding them above New York's scummy water and climbed the rope ladder like a monkey. From the direction of the arriving woman, a merry voice called out, "come on, Irish! Time's a-wastin'! You can ogle the chassis later!"

Grabbing her crew polo to yank over her damp, soapy henley, Alex could only hope she didn't look to much like a deck rat, raking her messy hair into some sort of order. On quick feet, she rushed over to where the port stairway had been transformed to the telescoping gangway. There was Sunglasses, followed up by a casually-dressed college type with a too-tight ponytail who was so engrossed in her phone that she was nearly run over by a delivery truck.

"Welcome aboard," Alex called out before they stepped onto the gangway/passerelle, not wanting them to startle on the narrow surface. She wasn't worried about who they were, because they wouldn't have gotten past the borderline paramilitary security the parent company had at the only two entry points. It had been such a shocking difference to the self-important little security man that Winn had called back to tell them.

The driver of the car smiled the sort of smile that left a woman weak in the knees and Alex fought down a grin and a flare of interest. Now wasn't the time to mix business and pleasure. But perhaps later…

"She's a beauty!"

"That she is."

Having crossed the short stretch of water, the woman offered a hand that Alex willingly took.

"Hi, I'm Kel--"

"Well I'll be damned," Lucy called out from behind Alex and the stranger startled and then her grin grew even more. "Kelly Olsen! Man, I haven't seen you in ages!"

Alex was summarily dismissed as the two met in a full-body hug.

"Lucy! I completely forgot you were part of this gig. Good! Now I know we're in good hands."

"Yes you are. Come on in, the wind's kicking up and the USS Overcompensation there only protects us so much."

The far larger yacht in the slip beside them really did scream overcompensation, even if maybe saying it about the big boss was a little… irreverent. 

"Well, he _did_ name it the Big L so…" Alex drawled and the two friends laughed, the brunette grinning a little shyly. She was gorgeous, both a stunner and yet so much the cute girl next door. The black skinny jeans, bomber jacket and a scarf so voluminous as to be comical added to the appeal. "So, I guess we've been ditched. Shall we follow?"

"We shall," the girl teased back in a smooth, smoky voice with a touch of accent Alex couldn't place. Though the 'Irish' nickname was mostly likely a clue. Lucy was chattering away at her pal, leaving Alex with the cute college student. And experience said that teasing tone and those shy, sweet eyes meant that a personal tour could only be a good thing.

Then Alex's flirty grin turned to a scowl of displeasure at a very unwelcome hail from the dock.

"Ahoy!"

The stranger's little giggle-chuckle made Alex all the more regretful that she had to take care of the nuisance. Bowing away, she got in a last flirt in her departure.

"Duty calls, I'm afraid. Farewell, pretty lady. Until we meet again."

That smile sent her on her way with a bounce in her step. Oh it didn't last long, what with Clark's innate ability to grate her last nerve, but still.

"Clark," she greeted with her usual lack of enthusiasm. Which, as usual, he ignored and carried on in his good-ol-farmboy-perfect-postured-crisp-uniformed-goodnaturedness.

Barf.

"Alex! Good to see you. So this is the new ship. Looks like Lex is right, she'll make a good starter ship to tool around the coast with."

That grin made her want to punch him, the condescending jackass. Where was Lois when she needed her?

"Yes, well, who needs a fourteen thousand mile range and a casino onboard?"

Not for the first time, Alex had to wonder if he was ignoring her sarcasm or really was just that oblivious as he gave her an undeserved belly laugh. 

"Lex does like his toys! Think I could get a look at her?"

Oh, how Alex wished she could say no, but the LuthorCorp name stamped on the deed left her feeling much less secure in her position than she had been with Cat.

"Sure. Lucy's already showing her off if you want to join them."

"Excellent! It'll be good to see how she's getting on since leaving my crew. See you around, Alex."

Oh well, back to scrubbing the hull. She was about to spider monkey over the railing to get back to the rope ladder when something smashed into the superstructure of the upper deck where it overhung the main where she was standing. Liquid exploded away from the ship's skin while Alex went into full defensive mode. In the moment before a second impact hit with better accuracy to splash her, Alex could hear feminine laughter from above.

"Dammit Lois!"

Flicking water off herself and eyeing the wet mess in a corona pattern with sad scraps of rubber in the middle, Alex peeked out warily from the under the protective overhang.

"I'm helping clean!"

Sure enough, there was Clark's wild free spirit of a wife leaning over the rail of the 'Big L' with a beaming grin on her face. Thankfully, she had both arms crossed on the railing and Alex felt like she was moderately safe for the moment.

"There's the better half!" she playfully flirted, hoping that Clark could hear this wherever the tour was onboard. "Lois, why do you stay with Captain Ken Doll when you can have me?"

Again, Lois's laughter rang through the blustery day. "Sweetie, you are charming and a love, but you're lacking a certain something."

"Yeah, but I can buy them in the sizes that work."

That brought on enough gales of hilarity that Alex felt reasonably certain she'd bought herself a break from the pranking. Susan was still chuckling quietly when Alex dropped in next to her, smug as a cat.

Comedian," Susan drawled and Alex zinged back with happy snark.

"Hey, I could always quit and go back to medical school. Leave you to deal with this chaos."

Susan only laughed, as always unfazed with the sarcasm. "Maybe on the same payroll, he might be useful."

"If he wanted to be useful, he'd send over a few hale bodies from that overstaffed tub to help clean the new toy."

Somehow, the scorn actually got thicker on the last few words. Alex then leaned her head back and yelled at the top of her lungs

"And no more water balloons, Lois!"

  
The Wider 165, Cecelia, smaller sister to my fictitious Wider 190. Beauty, eh?


	2. Meet You For Real

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's a bit more to tide you over until there is more fic. (get it?TIDE you over??? Ugh, I need sleep...)

It only took a couple of hours for Alex to be formally summoned to LuthorCorp for inspection. They even sent a car for her; a Bentley that she didn't even know what it was until she asked the driver. Prepared for the worst, Alex had dressed in her best formals, a military-cut navy suit and darkly red tie to set off her hair, shoes polished to a blinding shine. In her satchel was a laptop with all the paperwork for the 190, some hardcopy she might need, and a discrete change of clothes tucked away in case she stayed away for the night.

Upon arriving at the towering LuthorCorp building in downtown, she was met by a security guard that was the real deal. The guy at the dock was just to have a human presence about. This guy could kill you before you saw it coming.

"Captain Danvers, if you'll come with me."

Oh, how she bristled at the title, having only reached the rank of commander in the Coast Guard. It just felt wrong.

For all the age of New York's storied past written in the stone and steel of the exterior, the inside was as slick and modern as expected for a company like LuthorCorp. The security spook led her away from the hubbub of the commoners and down a hall past more of his ilk, to an unmarked elevator. As if she hadn't been nervous enough…

The lift seemed to climb forever, flashes of the city falling away zipping by through openings in the elevator shaft. When at last the doors opened again it was to a space in the sky that was all heavy wooden luxury and quieting carpet surrounded by floor to ceiling windows. A sharp-eyed secretary who somehow seemed as dangerous as Alex's escort, watched them walk by.

The set of huge double doors seemed as old as the Titanic and swung open soundlessly at their approach. The spook stepped to the side as Alex took in the vast, luxurious space. The dignified weight of the furnishings and décor were meant to quietly intimidate, everything carefully set to draw attention to the massive desk at the center with all of New York laid out like a painting behind it.

And there was Lex Luthor himself, scratching away at a sheet of paper.

Yep. For all Cat was a very rich lady, she had in no way prepared Alex for this.

Without a clue how to act in this situation, Alex fell back on military training, standing at attention, resolved to not let her body go rigid and get her all full of lactic acid. It felt like a year went by while Luthor finished up his work and slid the paper into a narrow slot that vacuumed it away with a hum. Then he leaned back in his chair for a moment to contemplate her.

He wasn't a big man, but he had presence. The cue ball head and heavy world-weariness made him seem decades older than his mid-thirties.

"My aunt speaks highly of you, Commander Danvers."

Ah, so he had done his homework. That actually reassured Alex and much of her nervousness fell away.

"The respect is mutual, Mister Luthor."

There was an infinitesimal easing in the man then, and he gestured to the chair opposite him, the desk a sea of mirror-shine wood between them.

"Excellent. Take a load off and tell me about the new toy."

Several hours of misleadingly benign interrogation and a couple glasses of orgasmicly good scotch later, and Alex had passed the test of being in charge of the big man's little sister. He even smiled and came around the desk to shake her hand.

"A pleasure, Alex."

"Me too."

"Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a party I can't miss. See you soon."

Not understanding the jovial little wink, Alex took the hint and grabbed her bag to get out. 

High on stress, a job well done and hundred and sixteen year old scotch, she opted for a rare night on the town. A call to Lucy had her best friend laughingly telling her off for even hesitating to get out there and have some fun. The suit and swagger ought to get her laid at least.

It wasn't until the early glow of morning through a stranger's windows woke her that Alex really thought about the meeting the night before.

_I have a party I can't miss. See you soon._

Luthor couldn't have meant the 190… could he?

Scrabbling away from her one night stand, Alex fumbled for her pants where her damn phone was a useless paperweight. She never left home without a decent charge on the thing! What had drained it dead?

How about being stupidly high up in the air for hours, and what she suspected were a million missed phonecalls awaiting her. 

Dressing hurriedly, she made sure her date was awake enough to lock up behind her, said a hurried farewell and practically ran down several flights of stairs to burst out onto the street and wave frantically for a taxi. For all that she needed to get back to her ship, there was no way she could leave behind that laptop back at her unused hotel room.

That task and a hurried checkout had her headed back towards the docks, twitchy with nervous energy about what might have happened in the night. The hard-eyed security went over her ID and checked it against the company file on her before letting her by. They even provided one of the purple-trimmed security and a golf cart to get her to her destination.

The ship looked intact, a calm sculpture of elegant lines against the utilitarian wharf. But the moment the cart pulled closer and Alex could step off, she knew that appearances could be deceiving. 

She was a mess.

There was the scattered remains of food and drink on every horizontal surface, the scent of puke was only partially sucked away by the stiff breeze and there were a full six comatose bodies visible just from the aft deck.

Livid at the mess and helpless to do more than roll up her sleeves and start cleaning up, Alex found Lucy and Winn in the main salon, both dour and clearly exhausted.

"I'll call for cabs," she said simply and got to work.

It took nearly two hours just to manhandle the weary revelers into the shuttling golf carts to get the hell out of the crew's hair. In beginning to really scrub away the party, they found another hungover wreck down in one of the thankfully empty crew rooms and another who had somehow managed to climb on top of the berthed submarine and pass out. 

"Idiot's lucky he didn't drown," Alex growled as she helped get his half-limp weight down and if he took a half bath in the icy waters of the Hudson that filled the berth, well wasn't that a shame?

That convinced Captain Danvers that a full inspection was in order. No more surprise guests, thanks. Luckily, the ship seemed cleared out except for one last stop, one that she dreaded. But as skipper of this vessel, she was the one to do it.

The crew had only been in the owner's apartment a few times during the intro tours and to dust the place off. All was quiet as she entered, hanging a left to walk down the hall past the gym and office and into the main suite. It was an elegant space with a little sitting room separated from the oversized bed by a six-foot wide partial wall that could deploy doors on either side for privacy.

And there was a body in the bed.

Livid, Alex stomped over and none to gently rolled the girl over, noting that it was the college student from the day before. Figures. She was barely conscious, muttering in kittenish objection at being dragged to shaky feet. With a fistful of the back of the girl's collar and the waistband of her pants, Alex grumbled as she walked her out and towards the stern of the vessel.

"You better be the last one. This is ridiculous."

They almost made it to the passerelle before a strangled noise nearby paused Alex in her mission to rid her damn ship of drunken idiots. It was Lucy, leaving off her scrubbing the deck, green eyes wide. With placating hands out, she spoke with the sort of exaggerated deliberateness usually reserved for hostage negotiations. "Danvers, put the girl down. Nice and easy."

Even as Alex's brow furrowed with how weird her first mate was being, Lucy spoke again, tone as gentle as a mother to her sick child.

"Hey Lena. How are you feeling?"

Alex froze.

Lucy cupped both hands around the girl's elbows where she hung from Alex's iron grip like a scruffed kitten. Red-rimmed eyes glared blearily at her, but were about as threatening as the kitten she resembled.

"I know…" the girl croaked, but it was all the effort she could manifest, her knees giving out, dependant on the crewmates to keep her upright.

"You do. Lucy Lane, Lois's sane sister." The quiet sass earned a hoarse chuff of amusement and Lena seemed to come back to life a bit with a thread of connection, no matter how tenuous. "Now, you've had a rough night. So how about we get in out of this evil sunshine and into a nice, soft bed, hmmm?"

Lena could only manage a weary nod.

\----  
(Author's note: The next bit is a big ol' except from, '4 times across the Multiverse Alex and Lena were not meant to come together… and the 1 time when they finally did'. I know some of you just read this, but there's been some changes.)

Groaning for mercy, Lena flopped over onto her stomach and woozily praised her limbs for working even that small amount. Now her roiling stomach just needed to get with the program…

What the hell had happened?

There'd been a party… Lex barging in with his usual disregard to take over whatever… event had left her feeling like a sewer. His party-boy 'Pitbull of New York' lifestyle was exhausting at best, and dangerous at worst.

Right now, she felt about halfway between.

At least everything seemed intact, including this damn bra she hated and was going to toss into the Hudson. Honestly, you'd think billions would at least get her a decent bra…

In the outside world, Lena's brow furrowed.

Hudson.

The Hudson River. That led to Long Island Sound. That led to the ocean.

A boat.

No, not a boat. A sleek, gloriously beautiful ship to take her on a worldwide adventure of her own choosing.

Did she dream that?

Not entirely convinced of her memories at the moment, Lena finally started paying attention to incoming stimuli. This bed was stupidly comfy and she might just lie here until the angels came for her. It was quiet and still around her, a largish space with some small echo off of hard surfaces…

And the strangest sensation of movement, faint enough that she was entirely uncertain she wasn't imagining it.

With her brain firing back up now, Lena puzzled that one out. It really was a slight sensation, like machinery humming away in the next room or the buzz of a busy server close by. And… and the slow, faint roll and pitch of a moving water vessel. 

Alarm blasted through her, burning off the worst of the drugging hangover, Lena's head shooting up. Despite the agonizing pain of the movement, she squinted into the glare of hazy sunshine and forced her limbs and inner ear to stop arguing and let her sit up, dammit! 

She better not have imagined the pretty ship, or kidnapping would be a possibility and that would be bad. Not only would she obviously be in danger, but Lex would roll heads.

A hyper protective older brother was one thing. A hyper protective brother with near limitless resources and a vicious temper was what she had. She loved him, but proximity could be a bit suffocating.

As though getting brain cells fired up, it seemed to help clear her aching eyes. The room around her was luxurious but understated, a soothing palette of neutrals and textures to please the eye. But she barely got a chance to take it in when there was a rattle of sound and someone was walking towards her on light, assertive feet.

No matter the rich surroundings, Lena held her breath in fear of the worst until she was joined by a stranger.

An attractive stranger whose neutral expression wreathed into a beautiful smile. The sort of smile that left a soul smiling back, just as Lena helplessly did.

"There she is," the handsome redhead said in a soft, melodic voice, soothing as a lullaby. "You ready for a little of the hair of the dog that bit you?"

It took a little waggle of the serving tray in her hands before Lena registered the thing even existing. Then she noticed the red, pulpy mass in the pitcher, along with sprigs of celery and a small container of ice.

She might have actually whimpered.

No, strike that, she whined for succor like a starving mongrel and the hot stranger's smile actually grew a millimeter. 

"I'll take that as a yes. Here you go."

With the smoothness of a dancer, the tray was set aside, a glass put in her hands and the pitcher tilted to pour a measure of the sort of medicine she needed desperately right now. Though the feel of the steadying hand cupped around hers was distracting…

Some dispassionate part of Lena's aching brain was glad there was no ice in the glass as she chugged the entire glass without coming up for air. Tart tomato and Worstershire sauce was a glorious kick in the face, the liquid joy of it soothing her dry throat and empty stomach. The faint hint of good vodka a funky afternote would help beat down the hangover too. 

And that warm hand continued to steady her, which was just… really nice.

Another glassful had Lena feeling almost human again and she finally took a good look at her caretaker. The woman was built like an athlete, darkly reddish hair chopped into a playfully punky mop with an undercut fade that did nice things to her jawline, and sparkling dark eyes with the sort of laugh lines that made Lena want to touch the softness of them.

Down girl.

She also seemed somehow… familiar?

"Have we met?" she croaked hoarsely and took another sip of bloody mary. Sheepishness was not at all the reaction expected.

"Yeah, kind of. I apologize for nearly throwing you off your own ship this morning. I didn't realize who you were."

"Okay, we'll have to come back to that because I honestly have no idea what you're talking about, but no, you seem familiar further back than whatever the past however long a time has passed."

Despite the confusing rush of words, the stranger seemed to pick up on the gist of them. She straightened up and pressed her hand to her chest. 

"I almost gave you a tour yesterday."

Despite her morning, Lena chuckled, which clearly encouraged her companion.

"Alex Danvers. Older sister to Kara Danvers and ship's captain formerly of your Aunt Cat and now you."

Lena had no idea where it came from, but she teased, "did Auntie Cat put you up to abduct me? Figures." Handsome Alex Danvers gave her an easy chuckle and Lena preened a bit at the reaction. "Okay, we'll come back to the info in your intro, but later. Is there really is a ship? I didn't hallucinate that?"

"Come here."

For a moment, Lena simply looked at the offered hands, strong and steady. Well, she'd already drunk the magical elixir brought by this pretty stranger, so she might as well accept her fate. Putting her softer hands in those calloused ones gave Lena a pleasant jolt of connection as she was lightly tugged to unsteady feet. Then Alex turned to stand beside her, cradling Lena's hands in one of hers and putting a steadying arm around her. Like that, they shuffled over to what Lena was just realizing were windows, automatic shades lowered to bathe the room in a muted glow.

Alex shifted to touch a dark square on the deep window housing and the shades began to hum upward almost silently. Not that Lena heard them over her gasp of delight. Golden light sparkled across rippled water that led like a carpet to the gently undulating terrain of nearby headlands, large white houses speckled amidst the sand and trees.

"We're still in the sound," Alex said quietly. "Because you have some friends and family onboard who wanted to give the new girl here a proper greeting. We'll take everyone home later and can be on our way as early as the morning."

Tearing her eyes away from the beautiful scenery, Lena looked into the face of the stranger who felt like more.

"Where are we going?" she whispered and drank up the slow, warm smile.

"Anywhere you please."

Reassured that Lena seemed to be alright on her own, Alex took her leave, an enigmatic smile leaving the new owner a little giddy.

It took a little batting at the upholstered walls before Lena found paneled doors that slid aside to reveal a gloriously over the top bathroom. Mirror doors opposite one another made Lena cringe at her appearance, but opening them revealed toilet rooms, which was a blessing for her abused digestive system. Then she could go explore the rest of the room. Two more mirror doors revealed a wood-lined storage room and to her happy delight, a salt room. That would be seeing some use very soon!

Beyond was the bathing area mostly clad in darkly-veined marble that sparkled in the sun. To the left was a carwash of a shower behind glass and to the right, a huge oval bowl of a bathtub she thought was stone until she touched it. Like the floors, the thing was wood! As much as she'd love to try it out, she might never leave this bathroom and handsome Alex had mentioned friends and family onboard.

Feeling far more human after a shower and two more glasses of the fine bloody mary mix, Lena was at last ready to explore her new home. Someone had snuck in and left a stack of generic comfy wear still in the plastic, laid out on the bed. There were even thin, soft slippers! Relieved she didn't have to climb into her gross clothes or wander about in the provided bathrobe, Lena dressed and set out.

Two doors in the entry hall revealed a little office and couch and beside that, a small gym with a couple pieces of equipment ready for use. The final door she came to spilled her into a long corridor awash in sunlight that led to a large space set up as living and dining room. It was nice, but its sheer size made it feel far too formal. There must be more intimate spaces about.

There was a flash of movement at the far end where a cool breeze made Lena wish she had a light coat.

"The purple thing is all Lex, I promise you that. Lena has far too much dignity for her brother's nonsense. For better or worse, she didn't get as much of the family dramatics, but also not the business acumen," Lois's voice carried to her, followed up by Kelly's dry reply.

"Or the ruthlessness." As though sensing her friend, Kelly suddenly sat forward and twisted to grin warmly. "For which I'm grateful. Hey, Irish, feeling better?"

Thiers was an odd friendship made of interesting opposites and casual connections they'd grown to real friendship. They'd met through their brother's closeness and found one another interesting.

Lena had been just starting the unique stress of graduate school then, with the additional chaos of doing it years younger than her contemporaries, so smart and privileged that few would approach her without ulterior motives. Right out of the gate she'd found Kelly's calm and intelligence immeasurably comforting, loved their combined humor and drive. She even liked the silly nickname, a casual celebration of a short lifetime of loving ordinariness before becoming a Luthor.

Kelly, jaded but still so kind after too much school and military life, had met the kid and they'd hit it right off. Both of them scarred from losing a parent too young, from being locked into systems that stifled their wild spirits, they'd forged a bond good for both.

Groaning dramatically, Lena squeezed herself onto the chaise with Kelly and gratefully nestled into the offered hug.

"I feel like I'm twenty-four going on fifty," she complained with no heat and felt as much as heard Kelly's soft chuckle.

"That's the Gen Z in you talking."

"Oh, ha ha, you rotten Millennial." 

Cat only scoffed at their banter, but Lois cracked up, saluting them with her delicate crystal glass half full of her third mimosa of the afternoon.

If Kelly and Lena were an odd couple friendship, their elders were a few levels beyond that. Contemporaries and rivals since they were teens, Cat and Lois were half besties and half frenemies, pushing one another to lofty heights and keeping their huge personalities somewhat in check.

The older brothers Olsen and Luthor made up two legs of the tripod pack of besties completed by Lois' high school sweetheart, Clark. That combination of personalities made any oddball friendship look ordinary by comparison.

Lucy sat beside her sister, the antagonist energy always between them mostly banked today. Those two wildcats were legendary in their circles! There were a couple strangers and Alex joined them from where she'd been puttering at a nearby countertop unit. The plate of sliced pita bread and deliciously fresh hummus was eagerly taken to be sampled. 

Before she fell to gorging the snack, Lena remembered the comment she'd wandered in by, turning a shy smile to Alex. "When Lex took over the company so Dad could retire early, he had it in his head that the --and I quote-- 'the brand is too boring'. 

Lois snorted rudely, nearly splattering herself with orange juice and champagne. "He's damn lucky he has Clark and Jimmy to have kept him from a few of his 'brilliant' ideas."

The scorn was almost visible in the sea air, earning laughter.

"Yes, but that's been the case since college," Cat added in. "Clark in particular tamed the worst of Lex's excess and in turn, the playboy made your handsome hubs less of a stuffy farm boy."

"Ah, but if you only knew him like I did," Lois playfully swooned and Cat just sassed her dryly.

"Lois, if I knew him like you did, we'd have killed each other years ago."

The laughter made Lena's hungover body burn unpleasantly, but it was worth it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shatterpath: i've decided to homage the Katie-Azie brotp and make Kelly her other bestie. so they show up and Lucy is thrilled to see Kelly and Alex gets stuck with the cute, shy college student she has no idea is baby Luthor  
> OR, there's the blowout party where Alex is horrified how they trash the ship. i'm undecided  
> daskey: i do like the blowout party. but like. it's something that lena also hates, because it's kind of expected from her
> 
> daskey: hungover?! love it  
> Shatterpath: oh, that's just a snippet. Lena is a MESS  
> daskey: listen. messy lena is my favourite lena. she's just so fun to write. she's so put together and poised most of the time so seeing her like that is a goddamn treat  
> Shatterpath: once she cleans up, she can go join her pals in celebrating FAR more quietly on the deck! It's at least Kelly, maybe Cat.  
> OMG, what if Cat and LOIS are there, snarking at each other????? the same day Lois threw water  
> balloons at Alex?????


	3. Off To See The World

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I can't remember if I included this link to a short vid on the Wider 165, but here ya go in case you're curious: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0sGLX_jS94o
> 
> Summer has been killing my ability to get anything done, so Captain Alex and her attractive crew and clients will have to stand in for June.
> 
> So… yeah. There was clearly more to this 'verse, but I lost my enthusiasm for it. Better a weak ending than none at all and ending on a quiet, hopefully note isn't a bad thing. Smooth sailing, everyone!

In fairly short order, it was clear that no one wanted to head back into port just yet. Lucy cheerfully set her drink aside and jumped up with a grin. "So, a slumber party then? Done! We planned ahead for just this. Hang tight."

That was a signal for Alex to quietly excuse herself as well, an enticing little smirk on her lips as she strode back into the yacht's interior. Not that Lena was paying too much attention… though the woman certainly had style. And her ass looked amazing in those fitted khaki pants. Not to mention the breadth of those magnificent shoulders under the polo sporting Lex's dratted purple.

But she wasn't interested, dammit!

The four guests aboard were content with just quietly hanging out in the autumnal afternoon. Lena was not enjoying the contrasting sensations of feeling both half numb and half hyper-aware of every scent and sensation against her nerves. Though at least she could now reasonably say that she had a stomach for being on the water, so that was good. As hungover as she was, the motion of water would have had her leaning over the railing and feeding the fishes.

With a rustle of sound, Nia appeared with a compact little cart that consisted of a trio of seagrass-woven rectangular baskets.

"Good afternoon, everyone. At the risk of being cliché, I brought a few goodies for the sufferers. Brunch anyone?"

Lena didn't even get a chance to murmur assent as Nia lifted a plate from the top basket and handed it over. Despite the snack already consumed, she fell on the avocado toast and the fat fried egg atop it as though starving. Plates and serving bowls and flatware were laid out on the low table by the couches, followed by pitchers of orange juice, coffee and ice water. Kelly was equally enthusiastic about her omelet and the frenemies with plates of scrambled eggs and hash.

"Oh my god, this is so good," Lena moaned and Nia dimpled with satisfaction.

"Good. I took the liberty of inquiring with your brother over food preferences. He had a couple people from your home and school life fill me in. And Kelly, your brother was a big help in ensuring I knew about your allergies and was filled in about sautéed onions, not raw ones. Alex asked for me, since they have mutual connections to one another."

The younger women blinked, nonplussed, while the older pair just chuckled. Kelly shook it off and finished her mouthful before speaking.

"Actually, that reminds me. It struck me earlier that it was odd that I've never met her in passing." The matter-of-fact musing abruptly became a grinning leer. "It's almost a shame I'm engaged. I'd take up that curious interest in the handsome captain in a heartbeat."

Lena didn't know why the comment made her blush, but she could feel the heat behind her ears.

When Lucy returned it was with Alex in tow, each of them bearing an enormous basket, looking for all the world like they were preparing for a picnic. For an entire pro football team.

"Okay, ladies, here we are. I took the liberty of stocking us up with a selection of neutral clothing. Lena is already sporting our casual deck wear package."

Pausing in wiping off her plate with the last bite of toast, Lena sat back and gestured dramatically down her body in game show host style.

"Excellent! I have flip flops, sweat suits, light cover-ups, pajamas and this company in the UK makes an amazing swimsuit that fits a huge range of sizes. Take your pick!"

As the quartet clucked over the offerings, Alex quirked a little smile and added, "when you choose a name for her, we'll get everything monogrammed."

That gave Lena pause and she set aside her decimated brunch to rub at her eyes.

"That's right. I get to do that, don't I?"

For all the world, she sounded like a toddler in the first stages of meltdown. No one missed it and Alex gentled.

"No rush. She's the only Wider 190 in all the world, so she's already unique. A name is no small thing."

Kelly gave Alex a grateful smile and lightly jostled Lena with her shoulder. "Would you like to go sit in the hot tub with me? It sounds like an excellent way to pass a chilly afternoon and burn off some more of this hangover."

It took a moment, but Lena finally nodded. They browsed out something in yellow for Kelly while Lena stuck to red, each also grabbing a warm wrap and flip flops woven of some sort of plant material. A trip to the master suite let Kelly oooh and aah and there was plenty of space for visual privacy to change clothes. Lena liked her racing-back one piece made of a scrunchy elastic fabric that conformed to her shape with room to spare. Then she giggled at the sunny string bikini Kelly made look good.

"Show off," she teased and Kelly struck a pinup pose for a moment before tossing a cover-up at her pal.

"Now, come on, you! Let's go show off for Captain Alex!"

Footsteps quiet in their woven-grass shoes, the women headed back the way they'd come and Lena blinked when Kelly veered off before they got back to the big living room space. She was up three steps before Lena's quiet wonderment made her pause.

"I didn't even notice these."

'These' were the main stairs, sleek and white and enclosed by a copper-plate lined chute that ran the full height of the ship's multiple decks.

"Would you rather take the elevator, honey?"

"There's an elevator?"

Amused and feeling badly for her young friend who was normally so put together, Kelly came back down to join her, pointing at the wall just to the side of the stairs. There was a lot of mirrors on this ship, a fact that Lena had noticed to her hungover chagrin. Here were two more, offset a bit from the wall and tucked between two plain white panels. It took a moment to notice the discrete pair of buttons set into that narrow edge where the mirror was mounted away from the wall. A touch to the upper button produced a discrete chime and a moment later, an invisible arrow lit up right in the mirror itself and the plain white panel beside the stairs slid back soundlessly.

Sweet.

It was a nice little lift paneled in coppery mirrors and trimmed out in a nice, pale wood similar to the owner's suite. The ceiling and the gaps between panels were thickly upholstered to grab sound, enhancing the short, smooth ride.

The hallway they exited into looked nearly identical to the one just left, though they were staring at a wall instead of windows. To the aft was another socializing area, visible through a huge glass pane that protected anyone from falling down the staircase shaft. That space looked much more inviting then the more formal space downstairs, but Kelly was herding Lena away towards the bow of the ship.

A short walk past a couple narrow staircases, one up and one down, led them to a crossroads Kelly ignored to open the door directly in front of them. And Lena gasped in delight.

While she had seen the views pass by the sides of the 190, and enjoyed watching the sights fall away behind her, she had yet to see the majesty of the ship's forward view. A great arrowhead of sleek steel wrapped in a protective skin of gleaming eggshell white cradled a massive teak deck marked with a helipad circle that must have been nearly the size of the huge owner's suite below them.

She was halfway into the room before she realized the sprawling counter space below an equally wide windshield was choked with tech. And perched in a raised, very comfy-looking seat in the middle of it all, was Captain Alex, calm, alert, and smirking at her guests.

"Welcome to the wheelhouse, ladies."

Instantly flustered, Lena internally cursed her fair skin she could feel warming and yet, minced over like a nervous cat looking for affection. 

"This looks like a nuclear launch station."

Alex's laugh was a warm thing. "Right? This beast has the most amazing toys and doohickeys. It's like Christmas!" That smile was potent, pulling a shyer one from Lena. "When you're up for a full tour, you just let me know."

"I'd like that."

Aflutter with flirty feelings, Lena distractedly followed a completely amused Kelly out into the autumnal coolness. They yiped over the chill and scampered around the raised superstructure that defined the edge of the windshield. Between a book-matched set of lovely two thirds round lounges built right into the island of superstructure was a trio of steps up to the hot tub. The friends giggled together, shedding their wraps and shoes to sink into the warm, bubbling water.

When Lena realized the tub was directly fore of the captain's chair, she did not look to closely why that made her feel flushed all over again.

\----

Dinner was light and lovely, the gathering all the merrier with the addition of Clark and Lex, who had been dropped off by a tender from the larger yacht. While Lena would have been far happier with just her friends and a quiet evening, what could she do? And that meant that Lex invited himself along and certainly with no warning.

Lex Luthor was not in the habit of asking for anything.

Alex's team adapted with quick, efficient speed, a dding chairs and shifting the dinner menu to accommodate the newcomers. 

It took a bit for Lena to figure out what was bugging her. Lex had always embraced the lifestyle he had been born into, the mold of billionaire playboy seeming to be cut just for him. But it had also made him dismissive of those who were beneath him, which was pretty much everyone in his eyes. 

Part of her had always known he was a poster boy of maleness and privilege, but the more time that went by, the more Lena realized that, while she loved her brother… maybe, just maybe… she didn't like him very much.

The staff aboard the Wider 190 remained professional, but their friendliness was gone. Only Alex had his attention, the others of no more interest than the décor he deemed boring.

It came to a head over drinks and a light desert, no mistaking the way Lex leaned back in his chair to give Nia's retreating form a long onceover.

"Lex!" Lena hissed irritably at her brother. "She's married!"

"Yeah?" he leer/shrugged. "Since when did that stop anyone from wanting a piece of this?"

Storm clouds gathered in Lena's eyes.

"I think it's time you go," she said very tightly in a voice that was pure ice.

Lex didn't even notice.

Thankfully Lois did and elbowed her oblivious husband in the ribs hard enough to make him jump. A quick, near-wordless conversation and Clark was on his feet and cheerfully bullying his best friend into compliance. As the boys made their way away from the aft main deck, Lois was kind enough to follow with only an apologetic glance at a fuming Lena. Cat was clearly wanting to say something, but figured it would only make things worse and joined her.

For a long few moments it was just Lena and Kelly in the charged quiet of night, the city a constant hum of background noise. Then Alex appeared around the corner, her expression both neutral and deeply empathetic.

Lena couldn't deny her pull to this woman, to the freedom of the ship around them, and with a deep breath she found her voice, grateful it only shook a bit.

"Captain Danvers?"

"Yes?"

"Do you think I might ask a favor of your crew to help me get together enough of my existing life to begin again on this amazing ship? I think an adventure away sounds amazing right about now."

There was promise and safety in that slow, warm smile.

"Yes. I can do that."

**Author's Note:**

> Shatterpath: i had a hilarious thought! based on this bit: "Yes you are. Come on in, the wind's kicking up and the USS Overcompensation there only protects us so much." The far larger yacht in the slip beside them really did scream overcompensation, even if maybe saying it about the big boss was a little… irreverent. "Well, he _did_ name it the Big L so…" Alex drawled and the two friends laughed, the brunette grinning a little shyly.  
> this, of course, is Lex's outrageous mini cruise liner that he parties on. a mobile trophy to himself. it's Las Vegas on water.  
> and WHO would be her captain? And HOW did Lucy get the skills to be yacht crew? Why, because of Captain Kent and his wife of course!  
> Lena's new toy looks like a dinghy next to it. Lex laughs at it. Lena LOVES it. Luthorcorp has their own dock in New York, because of course they do, and as Alex carefully approaches the slip she's been assigned, she's like, "You have GOT to be kidding me..."  
> and as I have said before, in any universe, Alex is never impressed with Clark. So she gets to have some attitude  
> daskey: alfjakgj LOVE IT  
> Shatterpath: as Alex pulls into her slip, of course Clark has to come over and visit. Perfect posture, uniform and smile, ugh. He's so nice he annoys her  
> so Clark and Lex go way far back, that's how Kara met Cat and how Alex got her job and met Lucy, who she hit it off with right out of the gate, the troublemakers  
> daskey: but omg, love it so much


End file.
